Ricks and Mortys Not the Rickest nor the Mortyest Dimension Q6-37
by Rick.And.Morty.Fan.Q6-37
Summary: The Smith family of dimension Q6-37 was used to standard Ricks, they'd met plenty. They'd been to the Citadel many times. Rick Q6-37 wasn't the Rickest Rick, not even close. Some Ricks are awful, some are good, some even care about their Mortys. Rick Q6-37 did not care about his Morty, nor did he care about his home dimension. I do not ship Rick X Morty. Leave a Review. Swearing.


Out of Character since they are other versions of the characters, Reviews accepted.

Warnings for Swearing, Gore? Blood and injuries, Tears. Dissolves into something terrible. No apologies.

No sexual content, I do not ship Rick x Morty. That is disgusting.

I do not own Rick and Morty nor will I. I claim no rights over the characters of this story.

The Smith family of dimension Q6-37 was used to standard Ricks, They were used to the drinking, the swearing, and the hell, Rick Q6-37 had given 'em and the real hard times he'd brought with him too. He wasn't the Rickest Rick, not even close, but he was an asshole. He REALLY didn't care about his family, and least of all their Jerry. He hated his Summer, loathed his Morty, Couldn't even stand his Jerry, and only just managed to deal with his Beth enough for her to let him live in the garage.

Morty Q6-37 was failing school, Summer was into some bad shit, Jerry couldn't land a job and Beth couldn't stop drinking herself to sleep at night.

Rick Q6-37 would take Morty out nearly every day, it was no secret, and Morty would always come home exhausted, injured, drugged, or really angry. The two would constantly argue, and Morty knew he was only a shield for his asshole grandpa. He really was just a tool that Rick used to get what he wanted. Rick didn't think a single thought about Morty or his needs or wants, nor did he think about anyone besides himself. It's how it had always been. And today was no different.

"M MoOUGHrty... Get up Morty! Get the Fuck Up you fucking turd we've goootta go! Gotta get some 'dem magic Jellyfish brains Morty." He had no choice, no say in the matter, as Rick dragged him out of bed by the ankle. Morty tried to hold on, he didn't want to go. "Go by yourself you B Bitch! Y Y y you Suck! F f f fuck off!" But Rick was having none of that. He pulled Morty out into the hallway, and threw him down. "Get the Fuck Up"

Morty did what he was told, his Rick could get aggressive and occasionally a little violent if he didn't get his way, so Morty decided to comply for a little while. He followed his grandpa out into the shed and 'helped' him load everything into the spacecraft. Helping being doing all of the work for him. Rick never did any of the labor and made him do all of the dirty work for him.

He hated this shit, why did he ever listen to Rick? What was in it for him? Well at least with Morty helping him he knew that Rick would never destroy this whole dimension. He was doing this to protect his family, and plus, since he was around Rick so much he could make sure that Rick didn't hurt his family.

He sighed as he got into the spacecraft and closed the door, he strapped himself in. Rick heard him sigh. "What is it you piece of shit? You think I want you to come with me?! All you are is a tool and you better remember it!" Rick climbed in and slammed his door, then without a care in the world crashed his way out of the garage. He kept taking swigs from his flask, the smell was overwhelming to Morty even though he should be used to it by now, it nearly made him drunk from the other side of the Spacecraft.

After a long flight of silence Rick haphazardly landed on a skyscraper at their new destination. "Okay, Morty, we go in, kill everyone, grab the ladder and get back in the car." Rick took a swig of his drink and let out a loud belch, "And then, you fucking better not mess up this shit Morty I'm fucking sick of you ruining everything, then we take the ladder to some bitch on the other side of the dimension." And Rick got out and started strolling off,

Morty followed. Good, this would be an in out mission. Finally. Why were they stealing a ladder of all things though? Oh well, if he asked he'd probably get backhanded as usual.

They strolled along the rooftop, then into a stairwell and straight into an office meeting. Rick, without hesitating, starting shooting them all. Not just the ones that tried to fight back either. Morty didn't have a weapon, he was 'too stupid' to use a firearm. He didn't want to shoot people anyway. He just stayed out of the way and followed Rick as they did a shootout sweep of the whole level.

But suddenly someone stood up out of their chair, another Rick. They spun around and without hesitating shot Rick Q6-37.

In the head.

Morty watched as his Rick toppled over dead into a pile on the ground. Morty raised his hands in defense, he didn't want to die. He just wanted to keep his family safe! He kept his eyes closed as tight as he could. But nothing happened. He opened them and looked at the other Rick.

"Please don't shoot me! I... I I I don't wanna die" His voice sounded pathetic, man he really was a loser. Of course this Rick would kill him, why wouldn't he?

"Not gonna hurt ya, Morty. I need ya to grab your Rick's portal gun Morty. Just grab it outta there, yeah."

"O okay..?" Morty carefully pried the treasured portal gun out of his grandpa's lab coat. The lab coat that his now dead Rick was still wearing. His body was still barely warm. Wait. Was he really dead? Morty carefully checked his grandpa's neck for a pulse. None. He really was dead.

"What're ya doing over there Morty, ya having trouble huh."

"N n no, I... I got it"

"Great, now, I need you to come with me. What's you're dimensional code?"

"Q6-37"

"Great. Okay. Listen Morty, you're Rick's dead. He's not coming back, ever okay, I killed him."

Morty approached this new Rick, what was going to happen to him? Wait, what if this Rick took him and left him at the citadel! He stopped approaching. "I won't go to the citadel! No! You can't make me! I have a family!" He backed away, oh no. That's what this Rick would do! He couldn't let him!

"Hey, whoa, calm down there, I... Look, ya know what, I don't need to take ya to the citadel. We can do the paperwork here okay? Just don't go anywhere alright? If you go anywhere we'll just trace the Portal gun and you'll probably get taken to the citadel for good okay? Just uh... Just wait right there."

Then the Rick took out his own portal gun and left. Leaving Morty alone with the dead body of his grandpa. He sighed and knelt down next to the body. "I never wanted you to die Rick, I just wanted you to stop being such an asshole to my family. Oh well. Infinite dimensions means infinite Ricks right?"

Morty sat down and waited. While he waited he fiddled with the portal gun, it was so weird to hold it. He never had before, and now it was only because his Rick was dead. He did feel bad that Rick had died, but he could only feel so much hurt for someone so horrible.

He sighed. He wondered if they'd reassign him to another Rick. If so he wondered if they'd force him to leave his family or if the new Rick would just slot into his old Rick's place. If he did that he wondered how long it would take for his family to notice, probably 60 seconds. His family had been to the citadel multiple times, and had met countless Ricks. Some were calmer that theirs, some were worse, some were slightly better, but all of them had no problem using their Morty's as shields.

A portal opened and the other Rick stepped back through. "Alright, Just need you to fill out these forms and I won't need you to come back with me ok. Then you can just skedaddle off back to your dimension." The Rick handed him the paperwork, but snatched up the Portal gun and started inspecting it. "Definitely Q6-37" he mumbled as he started adjusting it.

Morty looked through the paperwork, it was applications for a new Rick. He read it thoroughly and became confused. It had options as to what sort of Rick would be ok, Morty's preferences, and options as to things that were entirely unacceptable for Morty. "I get to decide what Rick I am assigned to?" He quizzed, mostly into the air, but partially to the Rick.

"Yeah, don't want a mismatch. Those lead to nothing but trouble. Also these are new rules, didn't used to be so... functional. Plus, if you know what sort of Rick you want, that'll help us end up with less Ricks dying or killing their Mortys and demanding replacements."

"Holy shit, do they seriously kill their Mortys because they want new ones? Fucking Idiots."

The other Rick laughed, "I like you, you're different, Most Mortys are just whiny little bitches."

Morty shrugged and handed back the filled out forms. Rick checked them over, every question had been extensively answered. He was a quick writer. "Okay." And Rick gave him back the Portal gun. "We'll come to your house if we find you a new Rick ok. If we can't find you a suitable replacement by this day next year we'll come around and then we'll need you to fill out new forms." And with that, the Rick grabbed up Rick Q6-37's body and opened up a portal. The next thing Morty knew both Ricks were gone, and he was left clutching a Portal gun.

"Holy Shit he let me keep the portal gun."

Morty selected his home coordinates and pulled the trigger before he was ready, accidently opening a portal under his feet. He fell through and into his garage at home. He was home. He was safe, and he hadn't broken the portal gun either.

He sat up only to find his mom, dad, and sister standing in the garage looking concerned.

"Morty you're alright!" Exclaimed his mother as she absorbed him in a desperate hug. "What's up with you guys? W w what's wrong? H how long was I gone?"

Summer sighed and rolled her eyes, "You were gone for like, 3 days."

"Holy shit."

Jerry shook his head, and then looked around. "Where's Rick?"

Morty thought about how to answer this, they were all looking at him expectantly. Then he looked down at the Portal gun in his hands. There was a note attached to it. He carefully unpeeled it and read it over twice to be sure that it said what it said. It was a letter from the citadel declaring Rick Q6-37 To be Confirmed by the council of Ricks to be 100% DEAD. Death by gunshot wound. Died at approximately 7:30pm Earth time (Q6-37 TIMEZONE) 14/07/2014. He handed it to his Mother, not looking up, and said three words.

"Rick is dead."

They all looked at each other in shock, even Jerry was shocked. Beth read the death certificate and handed it to Jerry before hugging Morty.

They stumbled around their normal routines for the next few days in shock, before finally they recovered.

It was on the 7/11/2014, while they were eating dinner, when Rick Q6-37 was mentioned again.

Morty wasn't hungry. He kept re-watching his Rick's death, over and over again. The last thing Rick had said to him repeated in his mind like a broken record.

'Okay, Morty, we go in, kill everyone, grab the ladder and get back in the car.' Morty could still smell Rick's flask as his grandpa took his final swig from it and belched loudly.

'And then, you fucking better not mess up this shit Morty I'm fucking sick of you ruining everything, then we take the ladder to some bitch on the other side of the dimension.'

Suddenly he was ripped from the memory by his mother's voice. He looked across the table, "Huh? I wasn't l listening" He said, but regretted it as the others started laughing. His cheeks flushed red and he crossed his arms defensively. But then Jerry spoke up. "You're mother and I were discussing the fact that you haven't been able to focus recently."

Beth smiled softly at him. "Morty, are you going to eat your food dear? You haven't touched it at all, and I know it's your favorite."

"No, I'm not hungry." He was so lonely. He missed the adventures, even if Rick had been an asshole and never, not even once, cared for any of them.

His mother and father shared a concerned glance, "Morty, is something happening at school?"

Morty shook his head. No, nothing was happening at school. And that was the problem.

Three words. That's sometimes all it takes.

"I miss Rick."

The words came out of his mouth without warning. He didn't will them to. They pierced the whole family, even Summer wasn't expecting them.

Jerry spoke up, having recovered from the shock faster than the others, "You mean the adventures with Rick, don't you?"

Beth glared at him, and looked at Morty in concern. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Morty considered the option, not really. And for once, Jerry was right. Morty didn't miss his grandpa, he missed the action. He still had the portal gun, but it was out of charge and he didn't know how to fix it.

Summer looked thoughtful, and then she also spoke up. "But Rick was a horrible person Morty. Don't waste your thoughts on him, he never wasted any on you." Both Beth and Jerry looked shocked. But Morty understood where she was coming from. "You're right Summer. I'm just gonna forget about him. H h he was the worst. Hey, do you wanna watch tv?"

And not long after he asked they were all sitting on the couch watching tv together for the first time ever. They stayed up all night, not thinking about Rick at all.

Jerry didn't think about Rick.

Summer certainly didn't think about Rick.

Morty didn't spare a single thought for his grandpa.

Not even Beth spared a thought for her dad. She thought instead about her real family. The ones that matter. The ones that surrounded her. She smiled. They meant the world to her.

On the 13/07/2015, at the Smith family table, dinner was happening yet again, as it had for the past 13-14 years. Nothing unusual had happened. Morty knew that tomorrow he would have to re-sign the paper work. He had spoken to and explained this to his family multiple times, explaining that he wasn't given the option to tell them that he just didn't want a new Rick, but he also explained that with the specifications he decided on there wouldn't... couldn't possibly be a Rick that matched up. Not even in infinite dimensions.

Morty was crunching away on some burnt dinner, Jerry was playing a game on his phone, Summer was texting, and Beth was halfway through her surprisingly small glass of wine.

Suddenly a green portal opened up in the wall, and Three Ricks stepped out into the dining room.

There was silence for a few seconds, and then one of the Ricks stepped forwards. "Hey, this the Q6-37 Dimension?" Morty stood and nodded, "Yeah. I'm Morty Q6-37."

The Ricks all nodded, "Okay, so, we've been searching flat out for your replacement Rick, and I know it's just within the time-frame, but we've found a Rick who meets all your weirdly specific specifications." All three of the Rick simultaneously took a sip from their flasks.

"O okay..?" Morty had no idea how they'd met his requests. How is that even possible.

"We just need you to sign here, and if you don't like your Rick just ring this number and we'll get him contained again."

Morty shuddered, contained? What sort of Rick had they found? Had this Rick really met all of the specifications? Why should he trust these guys?

He read the documentation thoroughly before signing it, and handed it back along with the pen. "Wow, wish my Morty had've read paperwork through like that. Would've made life a whole lot easier." Stated one of the Ricks in an uninterested voice.

The leader opened another portal and walked through, taking the document with him. And after a few minutes of awkward silence the portal reappeared and the Leader Rick walked back through with another Rick. This new Rick looked terrible. He was covered in bruises, bleeding from a few scratches, and his hair was even more wild than the normal Rick. He had deep bags under his eyes and he looked pale. He wore black jeans, a long sleeve, button up that was a pale pink, and he wore the usual Rick lab coat.

The leader Rick let out a belch and drew a circle in the air, "Okay moOUGHrty Q6-37, This is Rick +&47-!B24. He matches all of your rickdiculous specifications and he hasn't got an assigned Morty. So, Smith family Q6-37, this is your new Rick." One of the Other Ricks opened a portal, and the two that had been milling went through it.

The leader Rick Looked around at all of the family. "Man, I would love to stick around and watch you idiots try to get used to a new Rick and all, but I gotta scram. Good fucking luck bitches." And with that, he stepped through the portal which closed behind him instantly, leaving the Smith family of Q6-37 with a new Rick, Rick +&47-!B24 in fact.

They stared at the new Rick. He looked so different, but so much the same, as their original Rick. But he didn't say anything, he just stood where he had been put by the other Ricks.

After a few minutes of complete silence, Jerry spoke up. "Well, he's not a talkative one, is he?"

Beth glared at him, "Don't be rude Jerry!" She looked over at the Rick, who wasn't looking at any of them, but was looking at the ground. She smiled, because she really wanted him to be the dad she never had. She really wanted this new Rick to be the grandpa that her kids never had. "Dad, have a seat and eat some food with us."

The Rick looked up, and looked at her. His expression wasn't annoyed. It wasn't happy either, it was more neutral. He somewhat cautiously wandered over and stood behind the free chair. He didn't pull it out, he just stared at it almost as if he willed it to move.

Morty grabbed the chair and pulled it out for him, Rick flinched back when Morty had come close. But then he sat down in the chair looking somewhat annoyed. "You could have given me a minute. I am not used to the gravity of your dimension." His voice was the same as any other Rick. Except for the lack of loud and gross burping throughout a normal Rick's words. This Rick didn't let out a single belch while he was speaking. He also sounded... frustrated.

Beth placed a plate of food in front of him with seconds of him sitting, and he started staring at it. He looked so grumpy. Morty had known this was a bad idea.

After another few minutes of complete silence, Jerry again said something. "Wow. You really are a quiet one aren't you?" Rick ignored him and picked up his silverware carefully. He started delicately cutting the piece of meat on his plate, he didn't look up, not at anyone there, he was ignoring them entirely. It seemed so on purpose. Jerry didn't take it in a good way.

"So what, you're just gonna move into my house, ignore us entirely, and then take our son away to do who knows what?! At least don't be a bitch about it!"

Beth spoke up "Jerry! I'm sure he's just tired!"

Summer also spoke up, but her voice was somewhat bitter. "I agree with dad for once, I don't like the new Rick. We should call that number."

Morty shrieked as Summer tried to steal it from him. "No Summer I need this shit! I Can't go on without a Rick! Please just give him a Chance!"

And suddenly the chaos was stopped by none other than Rick +&47-!B24 himself. He stood up abruptly, but without bumping the table or spilling or throwing anything at all. His words pierced through the family's fighting, leaving them in silence. Three words.

"Just... S stop F f fighting!" his voice sounded quite odd, showing something unheard of; emotion. His eyes darted around the family members frantically.

After the initial shock, Jerry spoke up. "Why should we listen to you?"

Rick immediately looked away from them, he turned his back on them. "I am too tired for this type of conversation, I would like to rest now." His voice was stoic, he stood straight and rigid, and he didn't looked at them while he spoke.

They all looked at each other in confusion. Jerry frowned "No one's stopping you from leaving the dinning room, why don't you just get your shit and move in already." This statement earned him an annoyed glare from Beth.

Rick turned around to face them, not looking at anyone in particular, instead looking at the wall, and crossed his arms. "This dimension is a lot different than my previous one of residency. I do not know the floor layout of this building."

Beth looked at Jerry again, but this time less annoyed and more like she had had an idea. "Jerry, why don't you show Rick where the garage is, and where his room is."

"Why do I have to show him?" He asked, clearly annoyed. Summer rolled her eyes, "So that you can get to know our new Rick and learn all of his secrets, duh!"

Jerry got up, "Fine! But if he kills me I'll be pissed off!" And he stalked past Rick. "This way to the garage, c'mon"

Rick stole a glance at the other three before he followed Jerry.

Morty stared after them in shock. Was that really a Rick?! He was so... sober! And he didn't belch or swear so far at all. Not even once. And he was talking funny, like a robot. And he was acting all pouty like a little kid. This was so weird.

Jerry sighed as he went into the garage. "So yeah, all of our Rick's old shit is still here because we didn't know what the fuck to do with it to be honest, according to Morty it's all contraband and highly illegal." Rick followed him into the garage but stopped in the doorway, and asked him quietly. "So... What work do you do?"

Jerry looked over at him, how could he answer that without getting a bad response out of this Rick? He really didn't want to cause a reaction, especially not like the one he initially got from his original Rick. He considered his words as carefully as he could.

"I'm a stay at home father, I do all the housework and shopping." Rick put his hands in his pocked. Great. Jerry knew that that couldn't be a good sign. "But I've been trying to get a job! No one will hire me!" Shit. Why did he say that. Rick was just going to retaliate with something along the lines of 'that's because you're a piece of shit and you have no hire-able skills.' Jerry didn't need that right now.

Rick glanced around, and then spoke again. "So... What about Beth? Summer, Morty... What do they do?"

Jerry was surprised. Shocked even. Rick hadn't let out any narky comments at all. "Well uh, Beth is a Heart Surgeon for Horses. Summer goes to school and works part time at a little shop nearby, and Morty just goes to school. But he's not doing too great at school."

Rick seemed frustrated, and crossed his arms again. "School is a waste of time."

Jerry wasn't surprised by the words, it's just how he said them. He had said them with hatred mostly, but also a hint of dejection. Did Rick ever pass school? Wow he never thought about it, but maybe that's why he was always so sour about it.

Rick suddenly shuffled his feet, almost nervously. It easily broke Jerry's train of thought, and now he was wondering who this person was. This wasn't a Rick. No way. He was so unlike any Ricks he'd ever met, or heard about. Surely he wasn't a Rick. This didn't seem right. Something seemed very off.

Rick looked around, and then spoke again. "Are you aware... that you don't need to be hired to make money?" Jerry stared at him in shock. "What do you mean? Are you suggesting I make illegal money?! How dare you!" Rick held up his hands defensively "Not even in a small way. Although you could do that, I would not recommend it in this Dimension as the Police systems in place are powerful and they would most likely lock you away before you could even contribute to your family financially."

Jerry was startled, "Well what do you mean?"

Rick looked at his feet. "Well, in the current market, consulting can make a good amount. Also... people will pay for friendship and companionship. Can make quite an income if you charge just the right amount. Work is not too difficult, not too time consuming either. You could make an income locally and still keep the house well kept."

Jerry was baffled as to why a Rick would try to help him get a job. But then Rick added something he wasn't quite expecting. "I want better for this family. I want to give them the world, but that would be too much responsibility and would grow old quickly. I want to give them more money than earth can print, but then they would be locked away for suspected counterfeiting. I just want what is best for them. I want them to be happy."

Wow. This Rick was something entirely different. Holy shit. "Fucking hell Rick, I didn't know any of you assholes actually cared about anything at all. Let alone other people."

Rick stuck his hands behind his back and stared at the ground for awhile. The silence between them was concerning for Jerry. Who was this Rick. "Who are you?"

Rick looked up at him with tired eyes. He still looked terrible and one of his small cuts had reopened on his forehead. "I am Rick of dimension +&47-!B24." Rick turned around and left the garage, but after a second Jerry followed. "What are you doing? Where are you going?"

Rick shrugged. "I am tired, Jerry, I would like to speak with your family before resting." Rick led them back into the dinning room, where the others were still gathered. "Wow, Mom, Rick didn't kill Dad yet. Incredible." That was Summer. Beth rolled her eyes. "So, Jerry, how did it go?"

Jerry grinned. "This Rick is a lunatic! He's so different from all of the others I've ever met!"

The whole room was in shock. Jerry liked their new Rick? Oh no, what if he was like Doofus Rick. This is all Summer can think. She really hated him, he was so... she just didn't like him.

Rick put his hands in his pockets quickly, and looked anywhere but at any of them. His glance settled on the ground. Beth became worried quickly. "I haven't seen you take a drink, would you like some wine?"

Rick swallowed and looked at her, then his eyes darted around the room. "No. I do n not drink anything containing alcohol or... o or... anything besides water and... a and sometimes I... I I do not drink water either." He shuffled on his feet nervously and stared at the ground in front of him.

They were all startled. Rick sounded so nervous and small. He looked... frightened? No, distressed. He looked distressed. But suddenly he looked up at them, expression going completely neutral. "I have to go get my belongings and bring them back. I will be in the garage when I am back." And with that, before anyone could comment, he had briskly walked from the room towards the garage.

They all stared after him in shock and confusion. But then, of course, Jerry broke the silence. "Isn't this GREAT?! He's fucking SOBER! We Scored a SOBER RICK! How awesome is this!"

Beth sighed, "I'm not sure what to think about this whole situation. What if he's worse than the last one? What if he gets Morty killed?!"

Summer shrugged, "I don't think I like him. I think he's weird."

Morty stood up. "I think he's dangerous. A sober Rick can't mean anything good. I never realised it until now, but Rick gets drunk to keep his emotions at bay and to help him think straight. What if this Rick is unpredictable and... what if he has anger issues? What if he gets violent?!"

Rick moved away from the spot where he'd been listening in on them from and started towards the garage. He'd heard all he needed to hear. They hated him. They thought he'd be one of THOSE types of Ricks. He was so tired. Luckily he remembered where the garage was. He pulled out his portal gun. It was in such bad shape... but he had been told that this Morty still had the portal gun of Q6-37.

He contemplated going back into the dinning room and asking for it, but after what he had overheard he didn't think he could stomach returning to them before some rest. He sighed. At least if his portal gun broke while he was out there would be nobody to miss him. Except possibly this Jerry. But even he couldn't miss Rick much. And after what Rick had said he would be able to start making some money anyway, he'd get better at it over time and would really become something. The Smith family of Q6-37 would end up better off even if Rick left and never came back.

He shot a portal to his storage shed and stepped through into the darkness. His hair glowed up in the dark, a side effect of the cheap and alien hair dye he used. At least he could, by using its light, vaguely see the singular cardboard box that sat in the middle of the shed. He picked it up carefully, and stepped back through the portal into the garage of Q6-37. He put his portal gun in his pocket and placed the box down on the bench as the portal closed behind him.

Suddenly he heard a strange static noise. Then felt an odd sensation. A small area of his abdomen started burning and tingling at once, and the pain was unbearable. He tried to feel what was going on there, his vision was spotty. He didn't understand what was happening. Then there was an explosion and he was thrown backwards into the shelving on the other side of the garage. His head hit wall, then quickly afterwards the floor. Everything blurred, then faded into white. Searing white pain. He could move, he tried desperately but nothing worked anymore. And with one last attempt his body fell into unconsciousness.

Meanwhile, in the dinning room, they were discussing their concerns regarding their newest family member, when they heard the strangest static noise. It was quite loud really. After a few minutes there was a rather loud explosion from in the garage and then silence. They all rushed there in an instant, Morty getting there first since he was the only one who actively exercised.

He kicked open the door and they all rushed into the room. There was a fire in the corner of the room, with none other than their new Rick in the middle of it. Rick was unconscious, lying in a pile of things from the shelf burning around him. He was also on fire himself.

They stared in horror and shock, but Morty was the only one who could react. He grabbed his original Rick's inter-dimensional fire extinguisher and let it rip. The fire was out in an instant. Morty threw it aside and rushed over to the crumpled scientist. Morty found himself re-living a moment in his life that he never wanted to have to. He reached his hand carefully and felt Rick's neck for a pulse.

This time was different from the last one. Rick had a pulse. But suddenly Rick must have woken, because he scrambled away from Morty letting out a strangled, inhuman, cry. He stopped when he had backed himself into the corner of the garage. His eyes darted wildly around, where was he?! Who were these people?! Why did everything hurt?! What was happening?! After a few minutes of confusion the youngest human held up their hands, showing that they were unarmed. He looked around for the real threat, and his glance landed on the others. One of them held a device. He stared at them, the second youngest looking one.

Morty grabbed Summer's phone and placed it onto the ground quickly, sliding it towards Rick. Summer was pissed, but more concerned. Morty glared at his family, "Raise your hands, he doesn't recognize us and if we act hostile he'll kill us!" his voice was hushed, but Rick heard every word.

Slowly they all raised their hands, spare Rick, in a submissive fashion. "See Rick, we aren't here to fight you. We're family. Do you remember us?"

Rick didn't remove his eyes from Morty. "N n no." He hated that he had a stammer when he was nervous. It always gave him away. It exposed his weaknesses. "I... I I I... uh... who..?" He couldn't remember them. He had no family. His memories were blurry. The pain was so strong.

"My name is Morty, I'm you're grandson. Beth's son. Your daughter's son. You remember Beth?" He stood aside revealing Beth. "We're from a different dimension, but we're basically the same as your originals."

Basically the same as his originals. He frowned. His daughter... never had children... Not possible... Suddenly he remembered the citadel... and then he remembered everything. He stood up carefully, wobbling as he tried to find his balance. He stole a glance at them, they were of no threat to him.

Morty smiled a little, "So you remember now?"

Rick nodded sheepishly. "Yes. I do." He carefully took off his burnt lab coat, it was ruined and charcoal. He took out the remains of his portal gun. This was what started the fire. He had known it would break, but he hadn't expected it to explode and set him on fire. He stared down at the nasty burn on his abdomen, luckily it was the only burn he had actually received. Suddenly he felt worry. His hands quickly reached up to his hair. It wasn't burnt. Unaffected by the fire. Interesting. He knew the hair dye had some side effects, but not this.

His focus went back to the melted material that was attached to his abdomen. He carefully peeled it out of the wound, which was really nasty. He took off the shirt entirely, he needed clear access to this wound to be able to treat it. He went over to the desk, to his singular box of belongings. He started tearing things out looking for his supplies. He needed his medkit. After searching through the whole thing he growled in annoyance. It wasn't here. He didn't have a medkit.

Morty would know where Rick Q6-37's medkit was. He turned to look at Morty, but let out a gasp in pain as he damaged his burn with the sharp movement. Suddenly the world turned grey, and everything spun. He leaned heavily against the desk. This onset of injury induced confusion and symptoms weren't just from the burn, no, he knew his medications were wearing off. Pain from every current injury he had suddenly overwhelming his senses.

After a few agonizing moments of just keeping his balance something was pushed into his hand. He pulled his energy away from the pain and focused on the item. It was a pain-rid gun. It was used to neutralize pain nerves and heighten focus. He checked it over thoroughly before he couldn't handle the pain anymore. He took it, injecting the strange liquid into his arm. It took only seconds before the overwhelming sensations dissolved.

He could see and hear again. He looked at whoever had given him the pain-rid. It was Morty. He placed it on the desk and looked around. He could feel the blood dribbling out of all of his wounds again. He had lost so much blood. He looked at Morty again, so much concern. It was so weird, someone looking concerned over him.

"Morty..?" his voice was so weak. Maybe he'd lost more blood than he had thought. The young man simply nodded, "Yeah? How can we help? What do we do?" Rick looked around and felt dizzy again. He felt like he might throw up if he spoke, but he had no choice. "...M m medk kit..." was all he could stutter out. He closed his eyes tight, how he was still on his feet he had no idea.

But he realized too late the sudden rush of falling. He hit the ground once again. But this time he was still awake. He opened his eyes again, three sets of eyes peered over at him from the other side of the room. They were concerned. Not a glimpse of the usual hatred or loathing he was used to, nor was there trace of pity. They were all just concerned.

A different set appear in his vision, much closer. He gasped in terror, until he recognized that it was just Morty. Morty helped him sit up, which was more than Rick expected of the young man. He was then handed a medkit, more advanced than his own. He stared at it blankly before shaking his head. He needed to stitch up before he bled out on the floor like an idiot. He was such a waste of space. Why had he bothered interfering with these poor peoples lives?

He took out everything he needed and set himself to work. He stitched up quite a few wounds, but his hands started shaking and he couldn't feel his fingers anymore. It was only when a droplet of blood sprung from his index finger that he realized that he was gripping the stitching needle too tightly. He needed help. He couldn't stitch himself up and if he wasn't stitched up soon he would bleed out.

He mustered all of the energy he could manage, and pushed himself away from the wall slightly. His voice was quiet, the voice of a dying man. "Bethh..?" He held up the stitching supplies vaguely towards where he had remembered the other to be. The items were carefully taken from him and he was carefully placed down onto his back. He closed his eyes. Everything faded into bliss full nothing.

Beth quickly got to work, shouting orders to the others as she treated and stitched Rick's wounds. He was so pale. She kept checking his pulse, so weak. Morty was so confused that he kept stumbling over things. Jerry was surprisingly calm, but they all knew it was the shock kicking in. Summer was helping Beth anyway she could.

Beth knew she was out of options. Rick would die without proper treatment. But she knew that she couldn't take him to a hospital, she needed something else, someone else to help them. "Morty!" The boy looked at her, looking broken. She couldn't stand her son looking so upset, but she had to focus. "Morty. Get Birdperson. This is an Emergency, Go Now!"

Morty scurried off, grabbing the emergency summoning device Birdperson had left for Rick Q6-37. He dialed it, summoning what could've been hundreds of times. And within seconds Birdperson stepped through a portal. He looked unimpressed at first, but that quickly changed. He acted quickly and left again after a quick vitals check of Rick. Birdperson knew that Rick Q6-37 was dead, he was fully aware that this wasn't his Rick. But this Rick was in critical condition, critical that was worsening.

He was back within second, blood transfusion tools and equipment in his hands. He quickly set it up, and transfused blood from bags into Rick +&47-!B24. After a long night of hard work and worry, Rick stabilized. Birdperson insisted that he stuck around, and ended up watching tv with Summer and Jerry in the lounge room. Beth was in the kitchen cooking who knows what, and Morty insisted on sitting by Rick's bed until he was awake.

Birdperson was concerned when he had heard everything they knew about this Rick. He seemed almost as worried as Morty was. Birdperson seemed disturbed by the fact that this Rick was sober without any obligations to the Citadel or anything else that would give him some real reason to be sober. Not even the Ricks that had to be sober for work were fully sober, they would drink during the weekends, what had happened to this Rick?

Morty sat with Rick, hoping that he would wake up and be fine. Hoping that this was all just a bad dream and that Rick hadn't been injured. But when he opened his eyes again, Rick was still lying on the bed, he was still unconscious, and he still looked terrible.

And then finally it happened. Rick opened his eyes. He was awake again. Everything hurt. He sat up, and was startled when someone grabbed his arm. He let out a strangled cry and scrambled off the bed away from them. His arm was released upon his cry, but he could still feel where they had gripped it. He backed himself into the corner, yet again. He couldn't see, it was so dark in here.

The dark figure stood abruptly and switched on the light, which of course Rick had looked directly into. It stung his eyes, causing sharp pains to run through them. He shielded them quickly with his arm and recovered. He heard the person leave the room, and he looked around gingerly. He was in a bedroom, clutching a blanket. And he was covered in stitches.

Suddenly some people entered the room. He looked up at them suspiciously. He didn't recognize them. A young woman, a man, a woman, and a young man. They all looked concerned. But then a face he did recognize appeared. "Birdperson!" He cried. He glanced around nervously, this wasn't right. BP was dead. They'd killed him. They killed BP. His only friend... dead.

"Rick. I know you are confused. I'm not the Birdperson from your dimension. You're in the dimension you would call Q6-37." Birdperson carefully took a few experimental steps forwards. "Do you remember how you got here?"

Rick thought about this. Yes. Yes he did. He was a replacement Rick for a family that he'd never had. He nodded. He didn't trust his voice. He stood up, leaning on the wall heavily. They all seemed distressed, and BP spoke up. "Rick, you should be resting. You're not healed yet."

A thought suddenly occurred to him, "H how long was I o outt?" his words slurred and his voice a stutter. He realized it must've been at least 10 hours. He looked around, and then he realized that he was cold. He clutched the blanket up to his chest. He wasn't wearing a shirt. He'd torn it off after his portal gun had malfunctioned and exploded on him burning him severely.

The young man stepped forwards from the others, and past BP. "R rick? H h here." The young man handed him a lab coat. Not his, but his was ruined. This must've belonged to the other Rick. He put it on and buttoned it up quickly. He realized that the boy had stuttered, and he suddenly felt a connection between the boy and himself.

These people all looked so concerned. What were their names again? The woman was Beth... a version of his daughter, who had grown up and gotten married and had kids. The man was named Jerry. He was Beth's husband, and father to the children. The girl was named... Summer..? And the boy was named... Molly? Mathew? Maurice? Morrice? Closer... Morvil? Was that a human name? No... the boy's name was Morty.

Morty was the one, the one who had matching brainwaves to Rick. All Mortys had matching brainwaves to their Ricks. They acted as shields. He hated to think of people using their own grandsons as mind shields and regarding them only as tools to be used to get what they wanted. It just made him sick. And he looked so young. To think he'd possibly even killed people by his own hands at the command of a Rick... no one should have to do that, especially not this young.

"Morty" he stated, then he considered what he was trying to say. The young man nodded, "Yes? What do you need, Rick?" "I need your help. I would like you to show me what you have left of your Rick's belongings, scientific belongings." Morty nodded, "O okay Rick"

Morty led him back to the garage, and rearranged some dead flies that were on the desk. The whole room changed, turning into a lab, a scientific research workspace. Rick wasn't surprised. Figures. "All of this junk was Rick's, and now it's all yours so uh... were you looking for something specific?"

Rick nodded and glanced around. "Y you are s sure that your Rick is dead? W were you witness?" Morty looked at the ground. "Yeah, I was there. Got a Certificate from the Council too." He quickly pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Rick, who opened it and started reading. It was indeed a confirmation letter of death. From the Council. But the signature was... off.

He frowned. This wasn't a real document. This was fake. He turned it over and inspected the other side. He couldn't see through to the writing. He held it up to the light. Still, the paper wasn't see-through, it was high quality paper. The council of Ricks was cheap, they wouldn't waste good paper on a death certificate.

"I... Morty. What happened to the body?" Morty looked utterly confused. "What?" what did Rick mean? Rick Q6-37 was dead, Morty saw it with his own eyes. "The Rick who brought me the paperwork took the body." Rick looked concerned. "What was his Dimensional code?" Morty froze. He thought back... the Rick hadn't stated his code. Shit. Stupid Morty. He should have asked. "He didn't tell me... I was in shock and I didn't think to ask."

"Morty... your Rick is most likely still alive. And there is a possibility that he may come back here." Morty shuddered. "Oh Jeez. Shit Rick. What do we do? If he finds you here, I don't know how he'll react!" Rick rubbed his head. "We need to go to the council, right away."

The two were suddenly interrupted, "You are not going anywhere." It was Birdperson. He was standing in the doorway looking at them. He then continued, when he was satisfied that neither party would flee. "Rick, you are injured, you need to stay here and you need to Rest." Rick shook his head. "No BP, if I get caught in another Rick's dimension without permission... he will destroy the whole place."

Rick started forwards towards Morty, who was on the other side of the garage, but he was stopped in his tracks almost instantly. Birdperson had raised a gun towards him. A weapon unlike anything he'd ever seen. He raised his hands submissively, "Birdperson..?" Beth, Summer, and Jerry had also entered the room. Morty tried to approach Rick, but Birdperson gripped his arm with a strong hold.

Rick realised that Birdperson didn't believe that Rick +&47-!B24 was a Rick at all. BP was trying to protect his, Q6-37's, family. It brought tears to his eyes, which he made no motion to wipe away. He spoke up, his voice wavering. "Wubba lubba dub dub..?" Tears welled up making it nearly impossible for him to see clearly. He looked so... scared.

BP didn't take the statement lightly, as his own Rick had used it frequently to show his pain and plea for help without people noticing. In fact, all Ricks used the phrase to both show and hide their inner pain. But this Rick had tears streaming down his cheeks, his eyes held so much emotion, his hands shook uncontrollably in front of him, raised in front of his chest. His fingers twitching, his wrists bent inwards... and then an idea struck Birdperson suddenly. He was missing vital information here.

He turned to the Smith family. "What colored shirt was this 'Rick' wearing when he arrived here?" They looked at each other in confusion. They obviously didn't understand the importance of the answer. "What colored shirt was he wearing!?" Summer, Jerry, Beth and Morty were all shocked and confused. Firstly, Birdperson never yelled or spoke like this, not even when it was important, and secondly, why did the color of Rick's shirt matter? Especially right now? But they all tried the hardest to remember.

"It was light pink. Here it is!" Exclaimed Morty, grabbing up the burnt and torn pink shirt from the ground. He gave it to Birdperson, who quickly checked it over for something. BP took a bracelet from the shirt, and held it up to inspect it. It was colorful with a white stripe horizontally along it. There was black writing along the white stripe, but Morty couldn't focus on what it said from this angle.

Birdperson put the gun away suddenly. "My mistake, friend." His words were aimed at Rick, and he gave Rick the bracelet. "You must find out what you can about Rick Q6-37, find out if he's alive and if so where. Don't go alone and take one of these every half hour." He handed Rick a bottle of pills, then he left the room abruptly, leaving them all in confusion. Rick stared down at the bracelet, before carefully putting it onto his wrist and tying it on with what appeared to be a shoelace.

Before any of them could catch what was written on the band Rick held his arms around himself and shivered. Beth found one of Rick's old light blue shirts and handed it over to him. He inspected it thoughtfully, before putting it on with a lot of difficulty. It was slightly too big for him, and hung a little loose. He was obviously used to button ups. Morty handed him a lab coat, which he put on quickly. He looked like any other Rick, spare the cuts and bruises that were visible on his head and hands.

But suddenly Rick turned to look at the family. He wished they had had one of the good Ricks. Not one of the Ricks who were not good. They deserved so much better than they'd received, and now they were stuck with him until they could get a replacement. Tears once again appeared, but didn't fall. He wasn't a real Rick. He was technically, but is their eyes he was an imposter, a fraud, false, liar, stupid. He was torn from his thoughts by the voice of Morty. He looked over at the boy miserably.

"Rick? What's wrong?"

Jerry frowned, "You look just like any Rick, you shouldn't worry about it. I'm sure you'll fit right in at the citadel." Summer nodded, "Yeah! You and Morty need to go into the Citadel, find out what's going on, and then get back here! You'll do fine!"

Rick looked over to Beth... but she was no where to be seen. He hadn't noticed BP come back in and lead her away to discuss something. "Beth..?" he looked at the ground. No reason to feel over it though, so he brushed it aside. "Morty. Is Portal Gun Q6-37 functional..?" Morty looked unsure. "Yes... and n no." What could he possibly mean? Rick pondered how this statement could make sense, in what context.

But Morty spoke up before he could reach a conclusion. "The Portal Gun's outta charge Rick. I I I... It's got no charge left." Well that made sense. "May I have a look..?" and then he realized, what if Morty felt as though Rick didn't believe him?! "I believe you, I would like to charge it." Morty gave him a strange look and handed it over.

Morty was entirely right, it was simply out of charge. It was in no way even damaged, in fact, it looked as though Morty had been keeping it clean too. He was just about to comment, to praise him on his efforts, but Beth came back into the room looking troubled. Rick didn't look up, he felt somehow ashamed, but, also, he was busy setting up an inter-dimensional charge cable for the Portal Gun.

Beth's voice was sweet, although she sounded concerned. She sounded nothing like her mother, which he was grateful for. "Morty, I need to speak to you before you go." She led Morty out into the hallway, and then to the kitchen. "Morty, before you go running off with this Rick you have to understand something about him. He's different from the other Ricks."

Morty nodded, "I kinda noticed. He seems sorta... weird? I dunno, somethings just off." Beth smiled strangely, "Morty, you know that you're special. And you know that you have a learning disability." He nodded, "Yeah, don't rub it in. But wait... why's that important now?" "This Rick is also special, just not quite in the same way as you. It makes him unstable, you have to be extra careful around him, okay?"

Morty nodded. "I will be. I don't want anything to happen to any of us, Hopefully nothing does." His mother smiled. "You'll do great, make sure he takes those pills Birdperson gave him." He frowned, "What are they for?" Beth shrugged, "I have no idea, but he said they'd keep him calm and controllable." Controllable? That sounded so... wrong. He faked a smile rather convincingly, "Okay, we better get going." And he wandered back into the shed. He couldn't help but wonder what was in the pills.

Jerry and Summer still looked confused, but were talking about something? About who knows what. Rick was fiddling with the portal gun, setting coordinates it looked like. "Hey Rick, s so... are we gonna go now?" Rick nodded, "Yes. To The Citadel!" His voice sounded so... he sounded so excited. Even his eyes looked sparkly. He opened a portal, and the two stepped through it together. Rick didn't grab his wrist or push him through, he didn't even make any motion to do so.

Morty was surprised, they were on the outskirts of the Citadel. Why hadn't Rick taken them closer? Maybe he shouldn't ask... but he wanted to know. "Uh... Rick?" the response was a somewhat cheerful hum as Rick started walking towards the Citadel. Well, at least he'd responded at all. "What are we doing so far out from where we need to be?"

Rick looked at him, did he know where they would be able to ask about this sort of thing? Did they need to talk to someone specific?! He'd only been to the Citadel once, and not of his own volition. "Where... where do we need to be?" Morty looked around, and then pointed at one of the tall buildings. "Processing." Rick looked at him, how did Morty know where things were in the Citadel? Had he been here many times before?

Morty smiled up at him, "I can set the coordinates if you want, then we won't have to walk." He looked at the ground, he was so useless. He handed the portal gun over quickly, and Morty set the coordinates. Morty gave the gun back, because it was illegal in the Citadel for a Morty to carry a portal gun. Rick opened up a new portal, and they stepped through it together, once again Rick made no move to grab Morty's wrist, arm, or hair to drag him along with, nor did he push Morty through. It was a pleasant experience, being trusted not to get left behind.

They stepped through into an waiting area, but the sudden screaming next to them caused a bit of surprise. Morty looked, and also let out a cry in horror. They had opened a portal right through a Rick. This Rick's Morty was screaming and crying, obviously devastated. "How could you do this!? You Fucking asshole! What The FUCK HOLY SHIT!"

Rick +&47-!B24 quickly grabbed up the two halves of the Rick, aligning them on their back. He took out a gun and shot the Rick in the chest, and the Morty let out howls of distress. Morty Q6-37 could only hold the other Morty still and try to comfort him while staring in concern their Ricks. Everyone in the waiting room was watching, none of them were bothered or concerned, they didn't care if this Rick just died from being split down the middle. Nope. They didn't give a shit.

Rick of +&47-!B24 healed the Rick, and as soon as he had finished piecing him back together he sat up and let out a string of curses. He pushed Rick +&47-!B24 against the wall and punched him repeatedly. "YOU FUCKING NEARLY KILLED ME YOU PIECE OF SHIT NEXT TIME USE YOUR FUCKING PUNY ASS BRAIN TO WATCH WHERE YOU OPEN YOUR SHIT PORTALS. FUCKING HELL. MORTY!" the Rick let go of him and grabbed his Morty's hand, stalking off rather quickly. Morty stared after them for a second before refocusing on his own Rick.

Apparently the other Rick had gotten a few really good hits in, Rick was leaning heavily against the wall clutching his side with one hand and covering his eye with the other. He looked... terrified? Confused? Mortified? He somewhat shamefully looked at the ground. "Rick? Are you okay?" Morty was a little more than concerned. His new Rick was so weird. Morty reached up a hand to check Rick's eye, but Rick moved away, turning his head. "Let me see" he insisted, grabbing Ricks sleeve and pulling the hand away. Ricks eye was swollen, a deep purple bruise covered that side of his face.

Rick's expression changed suddenly, to stoic and neutral. He started walking towards the desk, and ignored all of the other Ricks in the room. All of which were staring at him with distaste. Why did they all seem to dislike his Rick? Morty swallowed, following Rick and standing next to him at the counter. The receptionist Rick looked bored and annoyed. "What." It wasn't a question. The Receptionist Rick wasn't happy to be here and he really didn't care what they wanted or needed.

Rick +&47-!B24 kept his gaze placed in the center of the other's forehead. "I need to know the whereabouts of a Rick." The receptionist rolled their eyes, "Sure you do. What code." Rick remained stoic, his voice sounded so robotic and unnatural. He didn't slur his words like the Receptionist, he didn't sound realistic. "Q6-37."

The receptionist Rick blinked, and quickly stood up. "Oh! Uh... Sorry. Sir." He quickly opened the walkway in the desk, and gestured for them to go through. "My sincerest apologies. Just ask the Ricks through there, down the hall through the first portal." Morty followed Rick in sheer curiosity as they walked down a hallway and through the portal. Straight into a gathering room, several Council members where seated at the table looking rather blankly and blatantly bored.

"What are you doing here?! You're not supposed to be here! This is a private meeting!" exclaimed one of the Council members, looking livid. Rick +&47-!B24 stared blankly at them, staring at the center of their forehead. "I am here regarding the current location of Rick Q6-37." They all seemed surprised. But one of them became suspicious. "What do you know of Rick Q6-37?"

Rick continued staring at whoever he was talking to's forehead. "I had believed that Rick Q6-37 was deceased. But I have found evidence that dissolves that belief... I was assigned to dimension Q6-37 to replace him." They all looked at each other in confusion, "No one was assigned to Q6-37 by the Citadel. Who assigned you? Who are you?"

Morty was the only one to notice Rick's breathing hitch. His breathing was erratic. "I was under the impression that the Citadel had assigned me, they were wearing Citadel issued gear." He handed one of the Ricks a piece of paper, which the Rick read aloud. It was a declaration of Reassignment. "Holy Shit, This thing has been printed using one of our devices. This is an official document. Fucking what the actual Fuck. Rick YX-97, did you sign this shit?" one of the Ricks took the document and looked it over. "That's my old signature before I changed it. Holy shit."

The Ricks bickered for a few minutes, and Morty could feel some sort of emotion dripping off of his Rick. But he remained still, stoic, rigid. Outwardly seeming placid. Morty knew none of the Ricks would pick up on the emotional feeling, none of them would even notice it. They all seemed to assume that he was some sort of emotionless Rick.

Rick cleared his throat, and the others all glared at him in annoyance. "What the fuck do you want? We don't fucking know what's going on! We've been trying to track this Rick, but he just disappeared a year ago and we haven't heard news of him since." One of the other Ricks stood up. "Now, we'll need you to hand over Morty of Q6-37 for interrogation."

This was the first time Rick grabbed Morty's arm. He grabbed it and shoved him behind him, holding him there protectively. "Morty is not going anywhere without me. He may not be my assigned Morty, but he is the closest thing I have to a shield and I am not handing him over. Either I go with him or we stay here." Morty felt so uneasy, had Rick just said what he thought he had? That Morty was his shield? He thought this Rick was different from the others! But apparently not. He didn't care about Morty, he just cared about having a shield.

"What the fuck?! You're one weird ass Rick. Fine, we'll just question him here. Don't answer for him or we'll take him by force. We need answers from him, not you."

Two Ricks came over and grabbed Morty up, they dragged him over to a chair and sat him down a little roughly. Rick +&47-!B24 felt his heart skip a beat. They were hurting him. But if he interfered they may take him away and possibly kill him. He stood stoic where he was. He didn't dare move a muscle. He couldn't let Morty get killed.

One of the Council spoke up. "What happened one year ago, to your Rick." Morty looked pissed. "My original Rick. He was an asshole. He dragged me out of bed, blah, we got in the car, blah, and we traveled to another dimension to collect 'Jellyfish... brains? Anyway, first we had to steal a ladder from a giant office building. We landed on the roof, went in, he killed everyone on the floor. Except one person. There was another Rick there, who shot my original in the head. He had no pulse. I didn't catch the other's code because I'm a Morty. The Rick got me to sign some paperwork regarding getting a new Rick assigned. It looked legit, but then again, I'm a Morty. He left Portal Gun Q6-37 with me and took Rick Q6-37's body with him and he left. I went home. That's all I know."

The Ricks looked at each other in annoyance and realization. One of the spoke up, "Rouge Rick, probably F-295." They all nodded. "We've seen something like this before. There's a group of Rogue Ricks who grab up other Ricks at random, they're a strange organisation. They pretend to kill em, pretend to be from the Citadel, and then they take away the bodies. They always leave the portal guns behind, which traps the Ricks wherever the get taken away too. We don't know what they do to the Ricks they capture. We really don't know much about them at all."

"F-295?"

Everyone looked over at the owner of the voice, it was Rick +&47-!B24. He looked nervous. "Holy shit, you look fucking nervous as hell! What the fuck! Man up!" laughed one of the Ricks. Another frowned, "What do you know about F-295?" Rick looked at the ground. The Rick from before spoke up again, mockingly, "Aw is the little bitch gonna cry? Who the fuck are you? What's wrong with you? You're such a pathetic loser! You're no Rick!"

Morty felt sick. What was wrong with this guy? He was making fun of his own counterpart. "H hey, you leave him a l lone!" +&47-!B24 glanced around nervously. "We need to evacuate the premises." Everyone stared at him "What?!" He took out a gun, and a portal gun, opening a portal. "Do as I say, or do not. I would rather you did. Go through the portal." The Ricks looked skeptical.

Rick spoke again. "20, 19, 18," he was counting down. Two of the Ricks ran through the Portal. Count downs were never good. "15, 14, 13," three more went through, leaving just them and one other Rick. "What's gonna happen when you stop counting down huh?! You try'na pressure me?!" "9, 8, 7, 6, Morty, go. Now." Morty hesitated before he went through the portal. He didn't want to die, but he hadn't wanted to leave his Rick behind. It felt so wrong. Rick watched his Morty leave, then turned back to face his counterpart.

Rick 23-47A had no idea what was coming, and was continuing to rebel against +&47-!B24's warnings. "Nothing's going to happen when you hit 0. I know it. You're making shit up." Rick looked at him. "3" He looked at his watch. "2" he stepped away from the wall. "1"

Suddenly the wall burst open, alarms went off everywhere. Explosions started randomly. People were running around in a panic. They were being attacked. Holy Shit. How did this Rick know that that was going to happen?! "What the Fuck?! How long have you Known this was going to happen and why didn't you warn us earlier?!" He was shooting as many attackers as he could.

Rick +&47-!B24 took out a set of headphones and without warning placed them over the other Rick 23-47A's ears. They were completely noise cancelling. He turned around to see the other putting headphones on himself too. They looked rickdiculous. He watched him take out a strange device and set it off. In an instant everyone bar the two of them had collapsed grasping their hands/limbs over their ears. There were enemies, Ricks, Mortys, there was even a Summer. It had the same effect on all of them. None of them could handle whatever noise the device was making.

23-47A took this chance and started capping all of the enemies he could see. He noticed however that +&47-!B24 wasn't shooting anyone, they were simply looking around almost expectantly. Once 23-47A had cleared the area he returned to the other, who appeared to shut off the noise. All of the Ricks started getting up, grabbing their Mortys or their weapons. 23-47A took off the headphones and his ears were assaulted by the yelling of all of the present Ricks, the screams of Mortys, and the pathetic cries of the enemies that were still alive.

+&47-!B24 opened a new portal, "Go, now." 23-47A complied this time. What had happened last time was crazy, and he didn't want something worse to happen.

Morty, and the Council members, where really quite concerned when the other two Ricks didn't follow them through the portal. And the next fifteen minutes of waiting was agonizingly nerve-wracking.

A new portal suddenly opened, and Rick 23-47A came through it quickly. "Holy shit that was intense." The other stared at him, and one questioned him in annoyance. "What happened? Where's +&47-!B24?" Morty looked around expectantly. "Yeah. Wh where's my Rick?" 23-47A gave him a sideways glance. "You really consider that Rick your Rick? Even now that you know that your original Rick is most likely still alive?" Morty nodded. "Yeah, but fuck it's not hard to think like that. My original Rick was an asshole, and so far this one has been oddly different. In a good way for me."

The Ricks shared glances, "Oddly different?" Morty agreed, "Well, yeah. He appears to be quite different from you guys. All the Ricks I've ever met are Bitchy assholes who don't care about anything or anyone, they don't make any effort, they're often overconfident pieces of shit. And I mean that in the most offensive way possible. Because it's true. You guys are partially sober right? But it's only while you're at work. My original Rick was the worst, he was violent and he was the drunkest Rick I've ever met. My new Rick? He's sober and doesn't drink anything containing Alcohol."

They stared at Morty, and then the leader spoke up. "A sober Rick? What code is he again?" "+&47-!B24." "He's from a positive dimension? Huh. And you're sure he's sober?" Morty nodded, "Yes."

A new portal opened up, and from it emerged Rick +&47-!B24. He looked disheveled. The leader of the Rick's took a threatening step towards him. "Who are you." +&47-!B24's stoic expression didn't change, Morty found it odd that he was acting so different around other Ricks than he had been at home. Rick looked around, "I am Rick of Dimension +&47-!B24. I was under the impression that you were aware of who I was."

"You know that's not what I meant dumbass. I don't care where you're from. You're a different kind of Rick, I wanna know how so and what made you that way." The leader seemed quite threatening, and Morty felt compelled to interfere, to protect his Rick at all costs. He knew it was a dumb idea. He knew Rick would be pissed. But he couldn't help himself. "Hey, leave him alone!" The Ricks of the Council shared a glance, and without warning the leader grabbed Morty, putting a gun to his head.

Rick's stoic expression immediately changed into one of pure fear. "Let him go! Leave him out of this!" All of the others were surprised by the sudden outburst from the previously emotionless Rick. The Leader shook Morty side to side, "You want your shield back? Better get explaining yourself real quick."

They had Morty. His thoughts spiraled out of control. He needed to protect the child at all costs. But what did they want from him?! He didn't understand the question! "Please just let him go! I do not understand what you want from me!" He was terrified, and he glanced to look at his friend. Morty's face was strange, was he in pain? Were they hurting him?! Oh no, how had he let this happen?! He shouldn't've brought Morty to the Citadel. Why was he so stupid?! How could he do something that would put someone else, someone he cared about, in so much danger?!

He remembered that when Birdperson had seen his tag he'd started treating Rick differently. Instead of acting hostile towards him, BP had called him a friend. Rick grabbed his tag and in frustration hectically tried to get it off of his arm. It was very disturbing for the other Ricks. And for Morty. They'd never seen a Rick so panicked, confused, and frustrated. He bit the shoelaces and tore them apart with his teeth, successfully freeing the tag from his arm. He handed the colorful band to the Rick closest to him desperately. His hands were shaking, his mind was racing. What if it didn't work?! What if it didn't have the same effect?! What if the hurt Morty?!

He needed a plan. If they didn't release Morty within the minute he would be forced to sedate them. He stared in terror at the Rick who he'd handed the tag to. The Rick was staring at the tag in shock. He showed the other Ricks. "Shit!" exclaimed one of them, followed by "I thought all of them were dead! Holy Shit! Fucking what the Fuck!?" The leader was the last to see the tag, but as soon as he did he released Morty. "I'm so fucking sorry! Fucking hell. I didn't know! I swear! Shit."

Morty looked around at them all, the Council looked so freaked out. "What the fuck is going on?!" He grabbed the tab up and looked at it. 'Cindersvand.' That's what it said. "What the shit?! What does that even Mean?!" He glared at the leader. "You fucking better explain because I'm over this whole not knowing shit thing!"

The Leader glanced at the others, before turning to Morty. "The incident was a fucking long time ago. Only a few dimensions were victim to it, and even fewer Ricks survived through it. Most that did got messed up bad. And the ones that did survive, they didn't live long after. No Cindersvand Ricks are still alive today, or so we thought. Now we know there's still one left. Holy shit." He looked at the Council Ricks before glancing at +&47-!B24.

"What the fuck? I thought Ricks don't give a shit what happens to other Ricks?! Infinite dimensions and all that shit right? Why's this 'incident' any different?!" The Ricks shared a glance. "Because it's something no Rick should go through, more pain than any Rick should bare. Holy shit. And it made the capture of the Scythe Ricks seem like a fucking walk in the park." "Seriously? 'More Pain than any Rick should bare'?! What the fuck?! Cut the Crap! Why is my Rick different from any other Rick?! I don't understand!"

A voice from behind the Council spoke. It was a Rick, but not of the Council, nor was it +&47-!B24. "MoUGHrty" they all spun around, there was an unrelated Rick standing there. He looked broken. He was also very drunk. "S'at y you? Wh atcha doing... ought here huh?" the Rick staggered over to Morty and fell down. A Morty ran over the hill. "RIIICK! Where are you g-!?" The Morty looked quite startled to find a group of Ricks with a single Morty standing on a hill randomly.

Morty Q6-37 held up his hands defensively. "Hey Morty, I'm Morty from Q6-37. We're not here to cause trouble, we were just crashing in this shithole dimension for a few minutes while we figure some shit out." The other Morty nodded. "I I I I'm M Morty B2-01, c can you help me g get my Rick into the car?" The Council looked unimpressed. "Gotta learn how to take care of your Rick."

B2-01 looked sheepishly at the ground. Q6-37 felt a pang in his heart, how could he not help this other version of himself, who was stuck with a super drunk version of Rick like his own original one, and so he responded. "Sure, we'll help you." The Council shot him a glare, and then the leader shot him a smirk before glancing around at the other members amusedly. "I bet the two of them combined can't lift a Rick." The Council laughed mockingly.

Rick +&47-!B24 suddenly scooped up the unconscious Rick. (Rick B2-01? Morty wasn't sure, this may not be B2-01's original Rick.) The Council went quiet, staring at the unfamiliar scene. A Rick who looked quite battered was carrying a Rick who was unconscious from drinking. +&47-!B24 looked at the Mortys. "Lead the way to the vehicle." B2-01 nodded vigorously and ran off, Morty followed him. The got a little away from the group, still in sight but out of hearing range.

B2-01 looked at him, "So... Why's your Rick helping?" "I have no idea. He's apparently a special Rick, but I have no idea. He seems really nice. I've not known him long at all, not even a full day. He's not my original." B2-01 nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Morty looked at him in confusion. "Talk about what?"

"Your original Rick"

"Oh." He thought about it. He'd never told anyone besides the Council what'd happened to his Rick. Maybe he should tell someone who might understand how difficult it was. "Another Rick shot him in the head. He's apparently not dead though, that's why I was talking to the Citadel Council." B2-01 looked startled. "Is that the Citadel Council of Ricks?!" Morty nodded. "Yeah, not all of them though. Apparently there's this secret organization of Ricks that've been mock killing Ricks and stealing them for some reason. My original's been gone for nearly a year now. I had no idea he was still alive. I thought he'd died."

B2-01 frowned. "So... y you're trying to find y your original Rick? Wh what about your new one?" Morty thought about this. "I'm sure he'll be fine, wouldn't be hard for him to get a new Rick. He's so special I bet they could find a really suitable one too. Probably a competent one." B2-01 looked at his hands. "I... y yeah. Probably. I've only ever h had the one Rick. He's a bit lazy though. Doesn't get out much."

They stopped at B2-01's space craft, and opened the door up ready. +&47-!B24 brought B2-01's Rick over somewhat cautiously, and placed him into the vehicle. The Council had apparently followed, as they stood nearby looking annoyed, bored, and a little confused. B2-01 strapped his Rick in and looked up at +&47-!B24. "Thanks" Rick shuffled his feet and he looked around nervously.

Morty grinned, "Alright. Wait, do you know how to fly this thing?" B2-01 laughed. "S sure! I drive all the time." Council leader laughed mockingly. "Fucking loser! Your Rick's such a bitch, I bet he doesn't even know how to fly that thing!" B2-01 looked upset, Morty looked pissed. "Takes a loser to spot a loser. Son of a bitch."

B2-01 got in the vehicle, and after a few seconds flew it off, waving to Morty and Rick as he went. The Council members all seemed quite bored. "Okay, so, we'll get back to the Citadel and give you what we have on Rick Q6-47, the organization that took him, and anything else we can find. But then it's up to the fucking two of you to find that piece of shit and report back." With that, they opened up a portal. Everyone present went through the swirling green portal and ended up at the Citadel once more. Which by now had recovered from the earlier attack.

To be continued...


End file.
